The week that was

Ohio State received its first of two byes during the conference season midweek, giving some of the coaches time to hit the recruiting trail and the team extra time to prepare for Saturday’s game at Michigan State. It was another barnburner, the third game in a row between the teams decided by four points or less. The Buckeyes had a chance to force overtime on the last possession but did not get the shot they had hoped for and lost 59-56. The Spartans lead the series 9-8 since Thad Matta became Ohio State’s coach. The teams meet again on Feb. 24 in Columbus.

The week ahead

Ohio State plays four teams only once during the 18-game Big Ten schedule, and two are on the docket this week (Purdue and Minnesota are the others). After facing three ranked teams and losing to two in their first five conference games, the Buckeyes have a good chance of making up ground in the standings this week. For now, they are among three teams with two losses, a game behind four teams that have one.

How good are they?

Five games into the Big Ten schedule, they are looking more like the team many predicted them to be: one that doesn’t know from game to game if anyone besides Deshaun Thomas will score in double figures. It’s hard to win that way, even with good defense, because the margin of error is very small. Nevertheless, the Buckeyes might not move much when the latest rankings are released today because they were competitive at Michigan State and several teams around them in the Top 25 also lost on Saturday.

Who’s/what’s hot?

Thomas’ 28 points against Michigan State were a career high in a Big Ten game, eclipsing the 25 he had at Michigan last season. He made a career-high 6 of 11 three-point attempts, scored half of the Buckeyes’ points and had more than a fourth of their rebounds against a defense that assigned him top priority. Aaron Craft had five steals to tie Jay Burson’s school career record of 204, but Craft gave back almost all of them with four turnovers, tying his season high (against Kansas). Say what you will about Shannon Scott’s shot at the end, and he did have three turnovers, but the offense runs better with him on the floor. He directed a 15-0 run to help the Buckeyes get back in the game in the first half and helped erase a seven-point deficit in the final 10 minutes.

Who’s/what’s not?

Although Thomas made half of his 20 field-goal attempts, his teammates made a third (nine) of their 27, including 3 of 13 in the second half. With shooting like that in the low-possession games the Buckeyes have been playing, they can’t afford to turn the ball over at the rate they have lately. In their first 13 games, they averaged turnovers on 15 percent of their possessions; the past four games, it’s 26.6 percent. Credit Michigan State’s defense for some of that. The Spartans hit their average with nine steals, and their half-court defense kept Ohio State’s guards out of the lane and forced the Buckeyes to attempt more than half of their shots (25 of 47) from three-point range. Bottom line, though, was that the difference in the game was at the free-throw line: Michigan State made 12 of 14 and Ohio State 8 of 13, including 6 of 11 in the second half.

The Thomas watch

Thomas might have been at his all-around best on offense against the best defense he has faced since the Kansas game. He not only made threes but also put the ball on the floor and took it to the basket hard. He increased his Big Ten-best scoring average to 20.8, and his six three-pointers gave him 47, tying Michigan freshman Nik Stauskas for most in the conference. Only two Ohio State players in the past 20 years have averaged more than 20 points: Evan Turner (20.4) in 2009-10 and Michael Redd (21.9) in 1997-98. The school record is 32.9 by Robin Freeman in 1955-56.

Outside the lines

The recruiting itinerary for last week took some of the coaches, including Matta yesterday, to Kettering, Ohio, for the annual Flyin’ To The Hoop invitational tournament. At least four prospects the Buckeyes are known to be recruiting played in the four-day event, which ends tonight. Two assistant coaches were there on Friday to watch 2013 big man Gavin Schilling, a Chicagoan playing at Findlay Prep in Nevada this season. Yesterday, Matta saw 2014 guard Justin Jackson, a former Cincinnatian living in Houston, score 41 points against Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and 2016 standout V.J. King. Last night, 2015 big man Elijah Thomas of Prime Prep in Dallas was in action, and he is again tonight.

Quotable

“I don’t know if it was pretty to watch or not. It was a hell of a game.” — Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.